RUX June: What we talk about when we talk about UX

Wednesday, June 26, 2013
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Dominion Digital, Inc.
4101 Cox Road, Glen Allen, VA (map)

What approaches and terminology do we use to talk to others about our day-to-day and long-term user experience work? How do we sell ourselves and get buy-in for our activities? Is there such a thing as too much transparency? A panel of UXers from corporate, non-profit, startup and educational worlds discusses lessons learned from communicating UX work to internal stakeholders as well as clients.

Get more info and RSVP at Meetup.com.


2013 RUX Meetups

RUX February: Brand & UX: Toward a New Interpretation

Wed Feb 27 at 6:15 PM

Corrugated Box Building, 201 W 7th St, Richmond, VA (map)
Mark Badger will get us thinking about the intersections of brand and UX. It’s not that those charged with overseeing the brand and those responsible for creating user experiences can’t, don’t, or have not collaborated. But it is fair to say that the relationship has often been…contentious. And yet, strategic thinkers from both camps seem to be zeroing in on the same target. More info…

RUX April: Are We Building the Wrong Thing Righter?

Wed Apr 24 at 6:00 PM

Snagajob, 4851 Lake Brook Drive, Glen Allen, VA (map)
Ryan Shriver of Dominion Digital shines the light on Agile and Lean product development frameworks that drive better customer value outcomes. Over the past decade, Agile and Lean methods have brought enormous benefits to teams and organizations. These improvements have primarily focused on helping them build things faster, with higher quality and improved collaboration. What hasn’t been a focus is ensuring teams are building the right things. More info…

[JOB] Junior Front-end Developer

Our friends at AMF have a new position available. It’s for six months initially at a rate around $55/hour (I know, I know…but it is for a junior developer). Here’s the summary:

The Front-End Web Developer will be responsible for the development of user interfaces for customer web sites and internal business applications. This position requires an individual that combines a strong visual design background with technical/development experience who is comfortable with hand-coding and using standard development packages, tools and frameworks. This position is knowledgeable and passionate about current web technology trends and is capable of implementing compelling solutions.

If you’re interested in learning more or in applying, contact Ryan Campbell — She’ll give you the details.


[JOB] MANAGER OF DIGITAL SERVICE STRATEGY

From the folks at Genworth:

Genworth Financial-Richmond-VA (RP14653)

Resumes may be sent to martha.spada@genworth.com

The Manager of Digital Service Strategy will set the strategic direction and support the execution of the US Life Insurance’s digital servicing experience. This person must have a proven record of bringing together Technology, Marketing, Sales, Operations and Analytics to drive an improved user experience and deliver tangible business results.

Responsibilities include:
• Setting the vision for US Life Insurance’s digital servicing experience aligned with the strategic objectives of the business
• Generating, shaping and prioritizing ideas and defining a digital servicing agenda to deliver on this vision
• Direct oversight to key digital programs / projects and overall accountability for the portfolio of work on the digital servicing agenda
• Ensuring the current and future digital servicing experience meets all legal, compliance, and security policies / procedures specific to the US Life Insurance and known industry-wide best practices
• Nurturing relationships and facilitating forums with business and functional leaders to gain input and advocates for the digital agenda
• Developing hypotheses leveraging information-based analyses to understand trends, gaps and opportunities for improving the digital servicing experience
• Providing leadership, subject matter expertise and direction to a cross-functional team of business analysts, project managers, developers and testers
• Building effective partnership across businesses and functions, including Technology, Marketing, Operations, Sales, Brand, Legal, and other key stakeholders

Basic Qualifications:
• B.A. / B.S. or the equivalent working experience in business management, marketing, or related field
• 2-3 years of experience leading cross-functional teams in the development and execution of digital capabilities
• Able to manage multiple programs / projects and associated resources
• Strong analytical skills
• Proven problem solving and strategic thinker
• Strong teamwork, communication, influencing skills across all levels
• Strong organizational, planning and time management skills

Preferred Qualifications:
• MBA or the equivalent working experience in business management, marketing, or related field
• Experience in Financial Services
• 1-3 years of experience as a people manager
• Experience with User Experience (UX) design, user-centered design methodologies, information architecture, and other usability-related fields
• Experience with Abode CQ5 and SiteCatalyst
• Experience working in Agile
• Experience in mobile strategy development and delive


RUX August: Framing the Story: Using Comics for Better UX

Storytelling is a crucial UX skill. Who are the users? What problems are they trying to solve? Why do they need your website or software? Where will they use it? When? Comic strips and storyboards are a great way to communicate about people, their relationships, and context over time. When used at the right moment during a project, comics bring ideas to life, illustrate complex scenarios and simplify requirements. In this fun and engaging roundtable discussion, RUXsters will glimpse rare comics selected by Cindy Jackson, Archival Assistant for Comic Arts @ VCU Special Collections, share favorite comics and graphic novels, and discuss ways to use comics for better UX. Seats are limited to 25 (free admission), so sign up early for an evening of BZZZT!, ZAP!, POW!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
VCU James Branch Cabell Library
901 Park Avenue, Richmond, VA

RSVP »


RUX June meeting: FAIL Tales

Join us next week! From the Meetup event page.

When: June 27th, 6-7:30pm

Where: Corrugated Box Building, 201 W. 7th St., Richmond, VA

Thomas Edison said he never failed, he “just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

Inventor James Dyson said: “I made 5127 prototypes of my vacuum before I got it right. There were 5126 failures. But I learned from each one. That’s how I came up with a solution. So I don’t mind failure.”

What’s your story? What has failure taught you? RUX June presents an open forum to share your UX fail tales. Attendees should prepare short presentations (5-10 minutes) describing hard lessons learned, sparks of inspiration from disaster, and how wreckage sometimes yields unexpected treasure.

Join us!


[JOB] UX job in Richmond

Not sure exactly what they want (perhaps a unicorn?), but for your interest:

http://www.guildlaunch.com/blog/index.php/2012/05/guild-launch-is-hiring/


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